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Monday, August 2, 2010

Boys, their bikes & coffee week: Volker

♥This week, I'll be posting a selection of photos I have gathered of the fine men that roam the city. This is a small series, don't worry I will feature more in the near, near feature. A third of my Bikes, boys + coffee trifecta for a dose of daily charm to add to your flirt factorin addition to your San Francisco's bike lane action :D

Bikes: I've currently got 4 bikes that are all mine. The Xtracycle that's in the garage is a hodgepodge of parts, some are my housemate's, some mine. When I do more than commute I always ride the Long Haul Trucker and from time to time I'll load up a sound system on it as well. The Cannondale Bad Boy is my primary commuter. It's a bit small for me. I'm in the process of building up an old lugged Nishiki frame with an internally geared hub. I hope it works out. Around the neighborhood I ride the sky blue Shogun basket bike. I rescued it from the Mission. I found it partly cannibalized and build it back up. It's relaxed and perfect for putting around in a 10 block radius. Getting coffee and such. It also makes a good guest bike because it's seriously too small for me. My Rockhopper hardly gets any riding in these days. Having no car, it's a bit harder to get to trails. Every now and then I'll roll around Golden Gate Park or make my way to the Marin Headlands Trails. I love all my bikes equally, each for its own unique contribution.

Coffee: I can't handle caffeine that well so I've been getting decafs and half cafs more these days. I'm not a fancy coffee drink person. A nice drip coffee does the trick for me. If it's really good coffee and I actually want to taste it I'll make a point of drinking it straight - get the real flavor. Wish I could do so more - but that stuff keeps me up. I'm digging Velo Rouge Cafe near my house. I'll go there in the mornings sometimes and double-fist coffee and beer. Deeelish. I like Mojo for the Beer and Parklet. I like Blue Danube and Farley's for the community journals. The pump outside Velo Rouge kicks butt though.

'Hood and fave bike ride in city:I really like where I'm living in the Inner Richmond. Access to the park is awesome. The real-deal asian food is spectacular. I'm not far from the Headlands for rides,... and If I'm feeling tired I can peel off Butter Lap at the Panhandle stop and feel like I've basically ridden the whole thing. As a fave ride/route it's hard to beat ButterLap (so cliché). Before I found out about that ride I'd take pretty much the same route home from SOMA from time to time - to get some exercise or collect my thoughts. Outside the city - I've gone up Mt. Tam many times and finally got a map so I was able to cruise down the railroad grade. My Long Haul Trucker took it really well - though I wished I had had some interrupter brake levers for that descent.